Day 2: Izola By Laurel - Idaho Falls, Idaho

We survived our first night in Venice! Today is a travel day… how exciting. We traveled from Venice, Italy to Izola, Slovenia. It was just a few hours of a bus trip, but we still managed to make a potty break! Some of the girls took the chance to use the bathroom and of course had to pay 50 cents to use it.  That was a first for the majority of the girls. Nowhere in the United States do you have to pay so of course it was a shock when a payment was required. We soon made it to Izola and began our journey to the hotel. We walked to the hotel that was a few blocks away from the bus stop. We made it to the hotel and prepared for practice and lunch. We all separated into small groups and found restaurants to eat. As soon as lunch was over we gathered on a city bus to head to the gym. Time for practice! At practice we warmed up and began some basic drills. We serve-received, did some hitting, and a little 6-on-6. Both teams were able to work some of the kinks out and prepare for our matches tomorrow. After practice we all came back to the hotel for dinner. It was a conglomerate of things, ranging from pasta to fish to pork. After dinner the older college girls left the hotel and headed to Moby Dick Cocktail Bar. There the girls asked me all about being a Mormon and what it is like. What a conversation!  I explained all about my religion and answered any questions they may have had. It was quite interesting to see their faces as I taught them about being a Latter-day Saint. We soon left and began walking back to the hotel. We found many statues of things holding up a thumb and we all gathered around for pictures. First it was a shark and then a chef. So finally it was time to put an end to the night so that we can all be refreshed and ready to play in the morning!

Editor’s Note:  After a rather short bus ride (we were told it could take anywhere from 1.5 to 4 hours) we reached a new country: Slovenia!  Izola is a quiet little town located right on the Adriatic Sea.  The weather is not too cold, all you need is a fleece jacket and you’ll manage just fine.  We were assigned our roommates, and given about an hour to find some “fast food”.  Splitting up in to groups backfired, as many just followed the group in front of them to the restaurant.  Our Slovenian guide, Urska, led us to the city bus that would transport our athletes and coaches to the gym for a team practice.  The older team, consisting of Emily, Megan, Meghan, Taelor, Kendall (KPutt), Laurel, Kady, and Kaye, immediately bonded and were asked to lower the excitement, as to not intimidate the high school team.  Oops!  The high school team, Sierra, Brooke M (LB), Savannah (GA), Taylor (TD), Lindsay (Mac-n-Cheese or just Mac), Gracie, Endea, Brooke, and Carly, had a bit of a rough start with their serve-receive but managed to pull it together in the 6-on-6.  We returned to the hotel just in time for dinner: French fries, mystery meat (was it chicken or pork?), fish, pasta, and some veggies.  For dessert? ICE CREAM!  The college girls went out to Moby Dick Cocktail Bar for a little “team bonding”, where we had may photo ops.  Tomorrow we will begin matches, in hopes of victory.